My enemy my friend

My enemy my friend
whom I know without compromise,
when I listened to the
deconstructions avowed of you
as your brand of pernicious
lies I was ashamed.
I know where you situate
in matters that joined us
in vigorous hand to hand
(and at times bloody) debate,
I know where you opposed my
belated philosophies you would stand
as firmly of the same belief as I
that they needed to be uttered freely.
But you never said those things
you are unjustly accused of by the
makers of plastic peace,
you only claimed they could be
said in a free and democratic state.
And in a few hysterical moments
your worthy sentiments were crushed
by the heel of the much vaunted principles
you said would take your noble life in
denying the freedom to oppose them.
© I.D. Carswell